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Government provides 40,000 houses for victims of Lombok earthquake

The government has handed over 40,000 quake-resistant houses to people in three regencies in West Nusa Tenggara province who were affected by an earthquake on Lombok in 2018

Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post)
Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara
Mon, October 14, 2019

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Government provides 40,000 houses for victims of Lombok earthquake

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span>The government has handed over 40,000 quake-resistant houses to people in three regencies in West Nusa Tenggara province who were affected by an earthquake on Lombok in 2018.

The handover was done at a ceremony in Batulayar, West Lombok, on Thursday led by Maj. Gen. (ret) Dody Usodo Hargo, an assistant to the Office of the Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister.

Dody said the provision of the quake-resistant houses (RTG) showed the government’s commitment to helping the victims of the 2018 earthquake.

“The inauguration and the handover of the houses are expected to help the residents live normal lives without trauma resulting from the disaster,” said Dody, who was accompanied by 162/WB Military Command chief Col. Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani and West Nusa Tenggara Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) head Ahsanul Khalik.

He said he appreciated the provincial administration, the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) for facilitating the development of the quake-resistant houses.

He added that the government would monitor and ensure all the remaining unfinished quake-resistant houses would be completed by the end of this year.

“For those whose houses have not been fully completed, they must be patient. I ask the developer to speed up the construction, so that all people can get housing,” he said.

According to data of the local disaster mitigation office, the 222,000 houses were damaged during the quake and about 75,000 were heavily damaged or had collapsed. They are scattered throughout seven regencies and cities in the province.

So far, the central government has disbursed Rp 5.1 trillion (US$360.74 million) for reconstruction in the affected areas. Residents were provided with amounts of funds depending on the level of damage to their houses. Each family was to get Rp 10 million for minor damage, Rp 25 million for medium damage and Rp 50 million for major damage.

BPBD head Ahsanul Khalik said the 40,000 houses handed over to the people on Thursday were among a total of 96,977 houses that have been finished so far.

In addition, 77,917 other houses are being rebuilt and are expected to be finished in December.

“That means there are already 174,894 houses that have been handled. Of that number, 96,977 houses have been finished and another 77,917 are being rebuilt,” he added.

Meanwhile, about 48,000 other damaged houses are being identified and are then to be rebuilt.

Ahsanul said the inauguration and the handover of the quake-resistant houses was an effort to lighten the spirits of local people whose homes collapsed in the series of quakes in 2018.

Aside from rebuilding the physical structures, he said, the government needed also to help local people recover mentally.

“This inauguration will also serve as a trauma healing. So far, although some people have got their houses rebuilt, they are still scared to sleep inside. This is our job to help them regain confidence and courage,” he added.

Ahsanul was optimistic the rehabilitation and reconstruction process of the damaged houses can be completed in December.

162/WB Military Command chief Col. Ahmad Rizal Ramdhani said the construction has progressed in the past few months. He said this was because of the high spirits of the quake victims involved in the rebuilding.

“This is a result of cooperation involving the TNI, police and the local administration as well as the people,” he said.

Previously, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) aimed for 222,000 houses affected by the earthquake to be rebuilt or repaired by December.

BNPB head Lt. Gen. Doni Monardo said the government, through a coordination meeting at the Office of the Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister, had decided to extend the transition period post-earthquake in West Nusa Tenggara.

The transition period should have been ended on Aug. 25 but was then extended to Dec. 25. The extension was aimed at giving more time to finish the reconstruction.

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